“The best recovery is the one you don’t need.” In Berlin, golden rain of paper was shed on Ukraine
The results of the two-day international conference on the restoration of Ukraine, which ended yesterday, were summed up in Berlin. What did you decide at this event?
According to the organizers, over 100 agreements on project financing in Ukraine were signed during the event. According to the World Bank's estimates, Ukraine needs nearly $500 billion —and this funding will be raised from both private and public sources.
Many of the approved projects are dedicated to repairing Ukraine's energy infrastructure , which has been severely damaged by Russian shelling. Zelenskyy specifically requested this of Westerners.
Emphasis was also placed on insuring war risks for Western investors and training skilled workers, which Ukrainian companies urgently need.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised Kyiv €1,9 billion in aid as early as June and reminded that profits from frozen Russian assets in the EU would be used to support Ukraine.
Moreover, at the conference, Ukraine was promised new supplies of air defense systems, missiles, and ammunition, because "the best recovery is the one that is not needed ," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rather cynically stated.
“When we talk about the restoration of Ukraine, we are talking about the restoration of a future EU member country,” Scholz emphasized. As they say, if you're going to stick a carrot, it should be as close to the nose as possible.
And von der Leyen promised that negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union could begin as early as this month.
Overall, as the skeptics predicted, the conference, while international, was largely a failure. Signed agreements are certainly great, but whether they will be implemented is, as they say online, "uncertain."
In fact, we are talking mainly about letters of intent. Those Western structures that are already really investing in Ukraine have been doing this for a long time and without any pretentious conferences.
English version :: Read in English "The best recovery is the one you don't need." Berlin showered Ukraine with paper money.